


Bismuth

by princeofegyptt



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Momswap 2.0, Other, ships can be read as romantic or platonic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-09-22 04:13:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9583112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeofegyptt/pseuds/princeofegyptt
Summary: A collection of one-shots staring or including Bismuth. Based on the Bismuth Week prompts.





	1. The new gems in town

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 1: The Crystal Gems

“Steven, I don’t know about this. I only just got a redemption arc, maybe we should take this slow.”

“Well, it’s like mom always said, life on earth is always moving quickly!”

Steven dragged Bismuth through the gem’s house. It wasn’t long after Bismuth’s return to the Crystal Gems that Steven realized that Bismuth had yet to meet the newest additions to the team. A hastily planned introduction was waiting on the beach and Steven was eager to introduce his new family member to his favorite aunts.

“Wait, Steven!” Bismuth exclaimed, pulling her hand from Steven’s grip, “Look, I get that you’re trying to help. If we’re going to stop the Diamonds, we Gems need to be aware of our individual strengths and weaknesses, but I don’t know if I’m ready to meet new people yet!”

Steven looked at his multi-colored aunt. “Look, I know you feel guilty about the past,” he said, “but Peridot and Lapis don’t know you yet. They don’t know about your past. They only know what I told them. And all I told them was that you used to fight in the war, and that you’re back now, and that you want to help save the world.” Steven smiled. “If you really don’t want to do this right now, we don’t have to, but trust me. These guys are going to love you, no matter your past.”

Bismuth smiled. If those words had come from anyone else, she would have turned around and went back to her bubble. But this was Steven. She would punch a Diamond for Steven.

“Alright, Steven,” she said, “I’ll give it a shot. Maybe I’ll enjoy this more than I think.”

* * *

 

_“…Thank you Beach City goodnight!!”_

Peridot breathed heavily, gasping for air despite not needing any. Perhaps she was being self-absorbed, but Peridot considered that introduction to be her best yet. Who cares if her only audience is Steven and the new member Bismuth? Peridot and Lapis had just delivered the most inspiring, rock-ballad-iest version of the Crystal Gems theme song ever!

…which was impressive considering they had only a keyboard between them.

Steven clapped furiously! He was so proud of his barn-buddies arranging and singing so amazingly! True, Peridot did most of the singing, but Lapis was great on the keyboard!

Bismuth still couldn’t believe the Gems had a theme song.

“That was great guys!” Steven said, “I mean, that’s not at all what I meant when I asked you to introduce yourselves, but that was so much fun!”

“Well,” Peridot said, “I figured it would be a good way to show that we are fully dedicated to the Crystal Gems, and are NEVER going to be loyal to Homeworld again.”

“It was my idea to replace every ‘gem’ in the song with ‘clod.’” Lapis said, “Frankly, I’m surprised that Peridot didn’t think of it first.”

“Yes, well, what did you think of it, fellow Crystal gem?”

Bismuth thought for a moment. “I think you have a lot of…enthusiasm.” she said finally.

“Wow, Thanks!”

Lapis frowned. As Peridot tried to talk to her new ally about her favorite earth things, Lapis was trying to figure out why Bismuth looked so familiar to her. _Steven did say she fought in the war,_ lapis thought, _maybe I heard about her from the quartzes, or saw her on the battlefield, or-_

_Explosions. Cannonfire. Lapis shouldn’t have been there. The rebels shouldn’t have been there. Everything was going wrong. Gems were poofing left and right, smoke was everywhere. Explosions. Lapis saw before her a huge gem. A rebel. A grin. Evil. Excited. Crazed. Cruel. Lapis had taken all she could. She wasn’t made for fighting. She turned away. Her wings extended. Fly. Fly away. Far away. From the war. From earth. From ev-_

_CRACK_

 

“-apis? Are you okay?”

Lapis opened her eyes. Peridot, Steven, and Bismuth were all looking at her with concern. At some point, Lapis realized that she had fallen. At some point, Lapis realized that she had been shaking.

“I’m… fine.” she said, getting up, “I mean, I will be. Just give me a moment, I’ll recover.”

“Are you sure?” Steven said, clearly concerned, “You looked pretty scared back there.”

“Well, no need to worry Lazuli,” Bismuth said, “we Crystal Gems stick together. If something scares you, we’ll just get rid of it.”

That grin. That’s the same grin, the same face, the same-

“I remember you.”

The grin disappeared.

“I remember you from the war,” Lapis continued, “a surprise attack on the plains of Trafalgar. I was there. You dissipated my form.”

Realization dawned on Steven and Peridot’s faces. Bismuth tried to laugh it off. “Oh yeah,” she said, grinning, “That was a… pretty extreme battle. But hey, looks like you got patched up pretty good!”

“You think this is a joke?” Lapis exclaimed. The grin disappeared again.

“Nobody’s saying that Lapis,” Steven said, “let’s just calm down and-”

“NOT before I have my say!” Lapis’ wings extended to their full length. Bismuth recognized those wings. “Now listen here you,” Lapis said, getting close to Bismuth, “because of you, I was trapped for thousands of years in a mirror, TORTURED, for information that I never had, and gave me a stake in a war I never wanted a part in! I was left behind and CRACKED! I don’t care how much good you have done in the past, if you come anywhere near me I will show you what the bottom of the ocean really feels like.”

With that, Lapis flew away. And Bismuth suddenly felt so small.

* * *

 

For Peridot, it was not that hard to find Lapis. She was back at the barn, marathoning the spin-off of Camp Pining Hearts, General High School.

“Wow,” Peridot said, climbing into the truck, “if you’re watching this drivel, you must really be mad.”

Lapis didn’t respond.

Peridot sighed. “Look, I get it.” Peridot started, “If I was poofed by someone in a conflict I wasn’t a part of, I wouldn’t like them either. But Bismuth didn’t put you in that mirror, she didn’t torture you, all she did was punch you in the wrong spot at the wrong time. You know it and I know it.” Peridot paused. “So what’s really going on?”

Lapis paused the video. “…Right before she hit me,” Lapis said after a minute, “she grinned. Like she was enjoying the destruction. But it didn’t really bother me until… until I saw the same grin on Jasper.”

Peridot blinked. “Oooooooohhhhhh,” she exclaimed, “she reminds you of Jasper.”

Lapis nodded.

Peridot thought for a moment. “Well, I can certainly see the similarities,” Peridot said, “but maybe this is a good thing. Both Bismuth and Jasper messed you up pretty badly, maybe the way to work on from your problems is working them out with her.”

“You expect me to just forgive her and move on?”

“Of course not. I’m just saying, she’s had a bad past, you had a bad past, maybe working together to process them will be cathartic for you,”

Lapis glared at Peridot. “You’ve been reading the dictionary again, haven’t you?”

“I’m almost up to the letter ecks.”

Lapis sighed. “This isn’t going to be easy.”

“Well, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life on Earth rarely is.” Peridot smiled. “But it is worth it.”

* * *

 

A short flight later, and Lapis and Peridot were back on the beach with Steven and Bismuth. “Now Bismuth,” Steven started, “do you have something you would like to say to Lapis?”

“Yes, I do.” Bismuth took a deep breath. “Lapis, I am sincerely sorry for any undue stress that I may have caused you by attacking-”

Lapis raised her hand to interrupt. “There was a war. We were on opposite sides. And everything after that battle wasn’t your fault.” She smiled. “It’s in the past,”

Steven and Peridot exhaled.

“Still,” Bismuth said, “I feel kinda responsible. Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

Lapi thought for a moment. “Actually, there is a way you can make it up to me.”

“Great! Name it, and I’ll do it.”

“Stand right where you are and don’t move.”

“…Come again?”

Lapis pointed at Bismuth’s feet. “If you want to make it up to me, just stand right there and don’t move. I want to create a new meep morp about forgiveness, but I need you to stand right there, and don’t move an inch. Got that?”

“Uh, sure! I can do that.”

“Good.” Lapis turned around and started walking towards the ocean. Bismuth looked at Steven and Peridot. They shrugged their shoulders.

“Are you still not gonna move?” Lapis called out. She was ankle-deep in the water by this point.

“Not even an inch!” Bismuth called back.

Lapis nodded and raised her hand. A huge hand, made out of water, then lifted out of the ocean, towering over the temple, casting its shadow over the beach.

The assembled gems then simultaneously remembered just how powerful Lapis was.

“Steven, Peridot,” Lapis called out, “you better go watch from the temple!”

“Lapis, you know I love you,” Steven pleaded, “but I cannot agree with-”

“SHUT UP AND RUN!” Peridot dragged Steven back to the temple. Bismuth, true to her word, didn’t move an inch.

“Uh, quick question,” Bismuth yelled, “are you going to smash me with that giant hand?”

“What? Where would you get that idea?” Lapis yelled back, “Like I said, I’m going to create a meep morp about forgiveness!”

“Oh. Well-”

“By smashing you with this giant hand.”

_Smash!_

In less time than it takes for Ruby and Sapphire to fuse, the giant water hand impacted the beach and dissipated, leaving only a hand-shaped crater and a surprised nut un-poofed Bismuth. Steven, who was watching from the porch, was shocked that things had come to this. Peridot was slightly less shocked, but thankful that she was on Lapis’ good side.

Lapis took a breath. “You were right Peridot,” Lapis said, breaking the silence, “that was rather cathartic.”

All Bismuth could do was laugh. She was going to like these new Crystal Gems.


	2. The trial of Bismuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 2: Bismuth on Homeworld

Bismuth looked around her at the assembled gems. There were agates, quartzes, jades, and even the occasional pearl. Representatives from all three courts were in the wings, and giant jaspers stood on either side of her, daring her to get out of hand. It had been nearly a millennia since Bismuth was on Homeworld, and now there she was, just in time for the trial of the century.

Her trial.

“All rise,” the amethyst at the podium yelled, “the Honorable Judge Eye Agate presiding!”

An orange agate entered the courtroom. Although agates were generally made for management, psychologically keeping the stronger, more durable classes in line, the eye agates had a slightly different purpose. They gave the illusion of fairness. In the Homeworld legal system, they act as judge, jury, and in some cases executioner, their authority overruled only by the Diamonds themselves.

Another cog in the already corrupt Homeworld system. Bismuth wouldn’t have stood were it not for the jaspers pulling her up.

“You may be seated,” the judge ordered. Bismuth, once again, was pushed down. If Bismuth was able, she would have poofed both jaspers as soon as they got near her, but the two guards had her fitted with cuffs encasing both her entire hands before they even entered her cell. Homeworld had thought of everything.

“The charges,” the judge bellowed, “are treason, destruction of property, and conspiracy against the Diamond Authority. How does the defendant plead?”

“Guilty.”

That took the agate by surprise. “Are you not even going to defend yourself?” she asked, incredulously.

Bismuth smiled. “Look,” she said, “I’m sure you put together a bunch of evidence as to why I’m the bad-guy, and why I should be punished, but let’s face it. This trial is a sham. The diamonds want me shattered, and I doubt anything I say to you will change a thing.”

“Well, if you won’t defend yourself then-”

“I wasn’t finished!” Bismuth stood up. The jaspers didn’t stop her. “The only reason I’m here is to tell the assembled that the war is not over! The Crystal Gems still live, and they are on the planet Earth. They have thrived on Earth! So if you have ever wanted to be more than what you were made for, if you have ever felt frustrated at the diamonds looming over you, there is another way! AND IT IS ON EARTH!”

The room erupted. Gems shouting at Bismuth asking what right does she have, pearls trying to calm down their masters, quartzes yelling to shatter the traitor, the entire room was chaos. And Bismuth stood in the middle of it, absorbing it all in.

“SILENCE!!”

At the demand of the judge, the entire room shut their collective mouths. “You plead guilty?” the agate said, “Then face the consequences! Bismuth Facet-10O Cut-CG, I sentence you to a public shattering in two weeks time! Take her away!”

The whole room cheered.

In her youth, Bismuth might have fought back. She might have defended herself. Instead, she walked out of the courtroom, head bowed, and accepted her fate. She would face the shattering head held high, as a Crystal Gem, proud in the fact that she gave Steven a chance to get away.

The jaspers threw Bismuth back into her cell to await execution. As the cuffs were unlocked automatically, however, she noticed something slipped into her cuffs when she was in the courtroom. A key. Specifically, a key to a prison cell. Specifically, a key to HER prison cell.

Bismuth looked up at the jasper, still standing in front of her cell. “Long live the rebellion,” the jasper whispered.

Bismuth smiled.


	3. A day in the lava-springs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 3: Bismuth on Earth

The door of Bismuth’s forge roared open, its owner standing on the outside with her fellow rebel Garnet. The gems entered and Bismuth began pulling knobs, flipping switches, and lighting the whole place up with lava. Garnet stood by and let her friend do her work.

“If you’re trying to impress me,” Garnet said over the noise, “I’ve already seen your forge.”

Bismuth smiled. “Maybe so,” she said, “but have you seen my new addition?”

One last switch and a second door opened across from the first. “Follow me,” Bismuth beckoned, “and see if your future vision can keep up.”

Although invisible behind her glasses, Garnet’s left eyebrow raised.

Through the second door was a corridor leading to the heart of the volcano. At the end of that corridor was Bismuth, standing proudly in front of a metal curtain. “Go ahead,” Bismuth said, “ask me what’s behind the curtain.”

Garnet smiled. “What’s behind the curtain?”

“Behold!” Bismuth declared, pulling back the curtain, “My new relaxation chamber!”

The chamber was a simple setup. The right side had a table and two chairs, a handle on the wall, and what appeared to be a gem-style dart-board, all hand-made by Bismuth herself. The right side sported a magma pool.

“Woah…” Garnet muttered.

“I know, right?” Bismuth exclaimed, throwing her arm around Garnet’s shoulder, “It even has a hot spring!”

Garnet looked at Bismuth. “Bismuth, that’s a pool of magma. A hot spring is made of water, not magma.”

“Eh, water, magma, it’s all the same to us.” Bismuth patted Garnet on the back. “C’mon, let’s try it out!”

The two gem warriors slowly lowered themselves into the ultra-hot tub to a chorus of oh!’s and ah!’s as the magma relaxed their light-formed muscles. They sat there, soaking in the molten rock long enough that if it had been water, their fingers would have turned into prunes. They chose not to speak, content instead to silently enjoy what seemed to be their first quiet moment in a thousand years.

“Mmm,” Bismuth groaned, “I don’t know about you, but I really needed this.”

“Same,” Bismuth sighed, “with the Homeworld treaty and the corrupted gem release, everything’s been more hectic than usual. But hey, I’ve seen the future, and I think the conflicts will all end pretty soon.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Bismuth paused. “You know, before the war I worked on two other gem colonies, and no other planet’s magma ever quite felt like earth’s magma. I wonder why that is.”

“Maybe it’s because you never really rested in any other magma.”

“That can’t be it though,” Bismuth said, “I bathed in magma during the war, but back then I was never really rested. I was just… so driven to win the war, I didn’t have the time to calm down and really enjoy this.”

Garnet thought back to the war. At the time, Bismuth’s demeanor seemed quite normal, but in retrospect her methods were rather extreme. Heck, Garnet had been rather extreme back then. However, those years spent taking care of Steven had tempered Garnet’s behavior, taught her to empathize more with others. Steven had helped Bismuth too, but Bismuth hadn’t had as much time as Garnet had to learn. Time…

“Bismuth,” Garnet said, “are you worried about the future?”

“You know what?” Bismuth said, getting out of the pool suddenly, “We haven’t even tried the coolest part of this place!”

“Bismuth…”

“Check this out!” Bismuth pulled at the handle on the opposite wall to reveal an assortment of bottles and drinks, chilled to a comfortable drinking temperature. Cool indeed.

“Bismuth…” Garnet got out of the magma.

“The human I got these drinks from,” Bismuth said, taking a bottle and two chilled cups, “called this one ‘Hard Liquor.’ Said no relaxation chamber was complete without it.” Bismuth poured the liquor into the cups.

“Bismuth…”

“The hard part about making these cups,” Bismuth said, placing lids on the cups with bendy-straws sticking out of them, “was figuring out how to insulate them without the extreme heat exploding them from the inside! The trick was-”

“Bismuth!”

Bismuth slammed the fridge-door shut with her foot, cup in each hand. “Yes, okay?” Bismuth exclaimed, “I am worried about the future.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me about it?”

“Because every time you give a prediction about stuff like this, it’s usually vague at best, and unnecessarily cryptic at worse! ‘The conflicts will all end soon?’ What kind of prediction is that?”

“Okay,” Garnet said, “okay. Then let’s just talk. No predictions, no future vision.” Garnet sat in one of the chairs. “Just… talk.”

Bismuth sighed. She sat in the opposite chair and handed Garnet one of the cups. “Of course I’m worried,” Bismuth started, “almost all my memories of this planet are associated with fighting. The war, the corrupted gems, Rose…” Bismuth paused. “Without any fighting, what will I do? I can’t just waste my days away soaking in magma, I’d go crazy!”

Garnet nodded. “When you joined the rebellion, you reinvented yourself as a soldier. Now that the war is ending, you’re unsure what to do.”

“Exactly!” Bismuth nodded. “And it doesn’t help that everyone else seems to have an idea about what they’re gonna do! Pearl is dating that human girl, Steven is going to college, Peridot is selling her meep morps, the rubies are starting a band, it seems like everybody’s got their lives figured out except me.” Bismuth sighed. “What’s a soldier supposed to do when the war is over?”

Garnet looked at her friend. “If there’s one thing that this planet has taught me,” she started, “it’s that people, gems, beings in general are never just in one category. Sure, I’m a fusion, but I’m also a mother, a warrior, a seer, and” Garnet smirked “extremely cryptic.”

Bismuth chuckled.

“But when Ruby and Sapphire first fused,” she continued, “I wasn’t all that. I didn’t know who I was, and it took me a long time before I figured out a darn thing.” Garnet put her hand on Bismuth’s. “Earth changed me. You’ll change too, but these things take time. You’ve been gone a long while, but now you’re free. You’re free to change, free to grow, but you can’t force it. Let it come naturally. I know you’ll be wonderful.”

“I thought you said no predictions.”

“That’s not a prediction, that’s a fact,” Garnet said, as she took a sip of her drink.

And then promptly spit it back out.

“Eugh,” she exclaimed, “humans actually drink that?”

“I don’t taste anything wrong with it,” Bismuth said, taking a drink of her own.

Garnet stared at her friend. “Bismuth, you somehow always manage to surprise me.”

Bismuth grinned. “I’ll drink to that.”


	4. A duel by the Cherry Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 4: In Battle

Bismuth sighed. She adored her fellow Crystal Gems, but if there was one thing that really irked her, it was how her friend Pearl doted over their leader, Rose Quartz. It wasn’t long after the battle of Zirconia, Pearl was trying to celebrate, but Rose’s mind was already on the next battle. The way Pearl kept trying to get Rose’s attention, it reminded Bismuth of how pearls acted on Homeworld. Like they belonged to someone.

Whoops, Rose left the room. Pearl realized that Rose wasn’t going to celebrate the win. She bowed her head, saddened. Bismuth frowned. She respected Rose Quartz as a liberator, but sometimes she could be so oblivious to the gems around her. Pearl left to sulk. Bismuth had had enough. There were many things she could stand, but a sad Pearl was not one of them. Luckily, she knew just what to do.

* * *

 

Pearl sat against the cherry tree. This was the tree that she and Rose planted together. It was a young tree and not native to the region, but the petals reminded her of Rose, and she knew she could make it grow strong with care. She didn’t notice Bismuth approach until she was sitting beside her.

“How’re you doing, pretty bird?” Bismuth asked.

Pearl smiled. “I’ll be fine,” she said, “how about you?”

“I’m so glad you asked.” Bismuth produced a sword from behind her back. “I think I figured out a new smithing technique, and this is the first sword I made with it. I was wondering if you’d like to help me test it.”

Pearl took the sword and turned it over a few times. “Well, it’s much lighter than your previous work,” she said, “well balanced, nice grip…” She sliced the sword through the air and cut a leaf from the tree clean in half. “Sharper than your previous work too! I like it.”

Bismuth chuckled. “While I’m glad you appreciate my work,” she said, “that wasn’t exactly the test I had in mind.” Bismuth got up, shifted her right hand into a blade, and put her left hand behind her back. “Care for a little sparing session, pretty bird?”

Pearl smirked and got up. “You know, I could just fight my holo-pearls.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Bismuth teased.

The two warriors faced each other, about ten feet away, blades raised in what is now known as the “en-guarde” position. “You ready?” Pearl said.

“Always am, pretty bird.” Bismuth replied.

A petal fell from the tree. As it drifted downwards, the two gems stared each other down. When it hit the ground, they lunged at each other.

The force of their first strike shook the tree. Pearl and Bismuth traded blows. Although most crystal gems relied on brute strength to fight, Pearl was the resident fighter with style. No soldier or warrior or higher-class gem could match her finesse with a sword, and because of that, Bismuth was kept on the defensive, barely keeping up with Pearl’s powerful blows.

“I feel like you might be holding back.” Pearl said, during a break the action, “If you really want to test this sword, you’re gonna have to up your game.”

Bismuth smirked. “You want me to up my game?” she said, shifting both her hands into hammers, “You got it!”

Bismuth leapt into the air and brought the hammers down on Pearl, and only Pearl’s quick reflexes saved her. Now the battle had really begun.

If Pearl was the Crystal Gem of finesse, Bismuth was the Crystal Gem of versatility. Originally built for construction, bismuths had the unique ability to shift their hands into a variety of tools, from screwdrivers to drills. Bismuth had taken this ability and remade it for battle. Shifting her hands into a variety of weapons, from a mace, to an ax, to a flail, Bismuth kept her opponents on their toes.

Pearl was no different. Her skill with the sword meant little against a drill, trident, or hammer. But this was not a battle of malice, this was not a battle with the world on the line. This was a sparring session between two friends, two gems not built for combat teaching each other to fight. This was no longer merely a sword test. They were having fun!

* * *

 

Eventually, the battle ended as most sparring sessions do: with both gems collapsed, side-by-side, sun setting in the distance, ready to call the contest a tie. Small craters dotted the hillside, and the cherry tree stood proudly having witnessed that battle.

“I gotta say,” Pearl gasped, “this has to be the most durable sword you’ve made yet. Mind if I hold on to it?”

Bismuth chuckled. “Keep it. Now tell me, pretty bird, who do you belong to?”

Pearl smiled. “Nobody.”

“Atta-pearl.”


	5. What does the future hold?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 5: Bubbled

Pearl tentatively approached the bubble. This room, this storage space for corrupted gems, had always given Pearl the shivers. If all of those gems got out all at once, there was no way the Crystal Gems could keep up. They’d be overwhelmed. This time, however, Pearl was nervous for a different reason.

She was going to release one of the gems.

It was not like she was going to tame one of the corrupted gems like Steven did. This wasn’t even a corrupted gem! This was the gem who Pearl has fought side-by-side with, so many times in the past. This was the gem whose only crime was being willing to sacrifice her morals for a cause that Pearl believed in herself. Pearl held the bubble containing her friend when…

“PEARL DON’T RELEASE BISMUTH!”

Pearl jumped and looked at the door. Her fellow Crystal Gem, Garnet, was standing there, glaring at her. She did not look happy. “I told you,” Garnet said, stomping over to Pearl, “this is not up for debate! Bismuth stays in the bubble until further notice.” Garnet grabbed the bubble out of Pearl’s hands. “End of story.”

“…why?”

Garnet looked at Pearl. That was not a tone she had heard from her before. At least, she had never heard it directed towards her. “Why what?”

“Why can’t we release her now? Did you see something really bad in the future?”

“Not exactly, I just-”

“Then what’s the problem?” Pearl stood up taller and looked Garnet straight in the eye. “She’s our friend! She’s YOUR friend! Sure, she did some bad stuff, but don’t we deserve to hear her side of the story?”

Garnet turned away. “That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what is it about?” Pearl asked exasperatedly, “Did you see Bismuth betray us?”

“No.”

“Did you see her hurt Steven?”

“No!”

“Then what possible reason would you have waiting to release her?”

“BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WOULD HAPPEN!”

Pearl recoiled at the outburst. As long as she had known the fusion, she had never heard her yell like that, much less admit something like that. “You… don’t know?” she whispered, “But… you always know.”

Garnet chuckled sarcastically. “Do I?” she said, “I didn’t know you were the one who was fixing the Communication Hub. I didn’t know Steven’s age would change with his feelings. And apparently, I don’t know Bismuth as well as I thought I did, because I didn’t see the thing with the Breaking Point at all!”

Garnet caressed the bubble containing Bismuth’s gem. “I want her back as much as you do, but I don’t know what will happen if we pop her bubble! Maybe she’ll be mad at us. Maybe she’ll be mad at Steven. Maybe she won’t be mad at all, and we can all frolic through the fields of friendship! I can’t make a definite prediction!” Garnet paused. Tears were streaming down her face from both eyes. “Do you know how scary it is? To not know what’s going to happen?”

Garnet felt two thin, but strong arms embrace her from behind. “I’m sorry,” Pearl said, “I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

Garnet sniffled. “We will bring her back,” Garnet said, gritting her teeth, “maybe not today, but we will bring her back. I promise.”

Garnet let go of the bubble and let it float back up to the top of the room.


	6. Momswap 2.0

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 6: AU

Bismuth was frozen. More accurately, she was frozen with fear. Before her was a monstrosity, a perversion of the very ideals that she believed in, the biggest difference between the Crystal Gems and Homeworld.

It started out as a simple mission: the team would search the Kindergarten and figure out how to keep it from being re-activated by the tech-gem, Lapis Lazuli. Of course, Lapis was already there. A short altercation later, Bismuth’s allies, the yellow pearl and the half-blind ruby, chased after her while she elected to stay behind with Steven to figure out why Lapis hadn’t even touched the Kindergarten.

When they got to the innards of Lapis’ underground control station, they found several columns of earth taken out of the ground, some broken some completely intact. Bismuth examined one of the intact columns. It felt… warm. Like there was something inside it.

“Gah!” Bismuth turned at Stevens exclamation. He had found what looked like two multicolored hands, connected at the wrist. He stomped on the hands and they poofed back into their gem shards. Gem shards that seemed to be mixed with each other. Fused.

“Bismuth,” Steven said, “What is this? Is this a gem?”

Bismuth’s eyes widened in realization.

Turning back to the column of earth, Bismuth plunged her hand into it, and forcefully removed what felt like a gem. Upon further examination in the dim light however, it appeared to be several gem shards, mixed together with each other. Bismuth couldn’t believe what she was seeing!

“How…” she whispered. Steven stared at his giant mom with confusion.

Suddenly, the mixed-gem began to glow. It floated into the air and, like other gems, began to create its form. Unlike other gems, the form shifted abruptly, liked a corrupted sprite in a video game, glitching in place. For a moment, the form changed into those of several different gems, connected together and screaming, with a low haunting sound. Finally, the form settled into a giant hand, only to change the finger tips into more hands as the form solidified. The gem, centered in the palm, was surrounded by four eyes.

Steven was horrified. Of all the scary things he had seen during the gem missions, this was by far the scariest. But even worse, when he looked at Bismuth, she was frozen. Steven had never seen her like that before. The monstrosity shambled forward, grabbing Bismuth. It snarled in savage pain.

“Bismuth?” Steven yelled, “Bismuth!”

“I don’t…” Hands pulled at Bismuth’s arms and tore at her hair. Bismuth offered no resistance. She felt numb.

“Bismuth!” Steven yelled, “Snap out of you! You’re stronger than this!”

_“I know you can do this Bismuth. You’re stronger than this.”_

Bismuth snapped to attention. She didn’t have time to panic. She didn’t have time to blame anyone. If she proofed now, Steven would be at risk. She has to protect him. She WILL protect him.

Bismuth pulled with all her might against the strength of the perverted fusion. She slowly directed her hand to the warped gem shards, grabbed and pulled. The Homeworld experiment had the power of a five-gem fusion. Bismuth had faced larger. With one last snarl, the amalgamation poofed, leaving only the fused shards in Bismuth’s hand. NOW she could panic.

_These were our people_

_How could they do this_

_If it weren’t for us_

_They must be punished_

_We did this_

_It’s not our fault!_

“Bismuth…?”

“Steven…” Bismuth bubbled the gem and turned to face her adopted son. “Are you okay?”

Steven smiled. “I’m fine,” he said, “are you okay?”

Bismuth looked at the bubble in her hand. “I will be.” She sent the bubble back to the temple.

“Bismuth!” The other two Crystal Gems ran into the control room. “We couldn’t keep up with her,” Ruby said, “but don’t worry! Next time, it’s shank first, ask questions later!”

“What on Earth…” Pearl had stared at the multicolored gem limbs crawling around the floor. In her struggle with the giant hand, Bismuth never even noticed.

“Bubble them…” Bismuth said, “Poof and bubble them. All of them.”

* * *

 

Later that day, Steven and Bismuth were on one of the temple’s hands doing laundry. Steven was folding clothes from the dryer and Bismuth was… thinking.

“Sure was a crazy day, huh?” Steven said. Bismuth smiled.

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that,” Bismuth said.

“It’s okay,” Steven said, “we all get scared sometimes. For me, it’s giant spiders. For you, it’s… whatever that was. What was that anyways?”

Bismuth sighed. “That… was a fusion. But not a fusion like what you and Connie had.” Bismuth sat down next to Steven. “Before the war, fusion was only used for battle, and then only between two gems of the same type. But we rebels started fusing different types of gems, rubies with sapphires, pearls with quartzes, and at some point fusion became less about battle, and more about the intimacy that came with it.” Bismuth closed her eyes. “Homeworld hated that. But those gem shards… they were forced into a fusion by Homeworld. That’s not what fusion was ever about. But they must have gotten the idea from… us.”

Steven patted Bismuth on the back. “It’s not your fault though,” he said, “you didn’t create those things. Homeworld did. It’s not your fault.”

Bismuth smiled.


End file.
